When Wrong Words Rhyme
by lunacentric
Summary: Sakura's the typical school genius every institution has. She lives her normal life everyday-- has a rival, has admirers, eats, plays, snores ? ...But will her reputation of being a non-fan girl be broken when some guy enters the school? SasuSaku
1. A Very Bad Day

**Before anything else:** I'd like to dedicate this story to my ever-supportive friend here, zaGooRian aTheNa! Whoo!

**Disc****laimer:** I love Naruto, but I don't own it... Oh well. There go my hopes and dreams.

* * *

It was a really sultry day.

A certain girl with roseate locks cut to the length of her shoulders sauntered around the streets of Konoha, aiming for a good bookstore to wallow in. Only a few people were out today, she saw.

_Maybe it's because of the damn weather_, Sakura thought. _Obviously_. She wondered what the newest release in the book outlet she frequently visits was. Upon catching sight of the place, she immediately stumbled in, tripping on the foot of an inconsiderate person who was blocking her way. She cursed almost subconsciously loud that the man (or more so, the guy) noticed her, shooting a glare that almost melted her. He had abysmal orbs that, when had you caught, would drain strength from all over your body. At least, that's what _she_ thought.

She simply stared at him. Whether her salivation was dripping out or not, she had no idea. That guy, whom she just bumped into, was glowering at her in the cutest way, and she didn't know the heck how to react.

"Uh—s-sorry," she stammered. The guy, however, made no comment and left her there, gazing at nowhere exactly with her mouth hanging open. She flushed as she realized that it was a pathetic thing to do. "Oh, well."

_But who was that guy?_

* * *

Sakura moaned as she wiped away the sweat that dripped down her face endlessly. No—it wasn't summer or anything like that, just the beginning of a new school year. Classes were to start in half an hour and she was still in the middle of a raucous crowd, recklessly wandering amongst the students in search for her best friend, Naruto.

After minutes of being pushed forward, backward and sideward, she finally caught sight of the erratic blond. She grasped his shirt when he started to walk away (again) since he seemed to be in a rush for something. "Naruto, where the heck've you been?"

"Sakura-chan—there you are! C'mon, I want you to meet someone," he said, and just when Sakura as expecting a big bear hug or something like that (how thoughtful of him… _Not_). He led her to the covered walk, and seeing that it was dominated by more cherry trees at the sides, Sakura figured that the academy had some major renovation last summer. They came to the gym minutes after almost aimless roving, at length.

"Naruto, get me out of here… This place just keeps on bringing back memories—useless ones," she muttered. The mere thought of the past years of P.E. made her cringe. She couldn't say that she was really good in sports—although she _is_ sort of good—when she had some unthinkable incidents the past few years.

"Relax," he said as he rotated his head, his eyes focused on something else. "Right—hey, Sasuke! Over here!"

Sakura looked around to see who this 'Sasuke' guy was. It was probably another made-up person Naruto thought of to get back at Sakura for not treating him to ramen last time. "Naruto, I swear—if this is just one of your pathetic pranks—"

"Geez—Sakura-chan, how many times do I have to remind you to just relax?!" Naruto took hold of her hand and dragged her to the other side of the gym. She glanced on all sides of it, flashing little smiles at her former classmates. But then she saw a black-haired male who had his head tilted down, seemingly fixing something. Oh, right. It was his bag.

_Great. Another new guy._ Sakura didn't really like the idea of having new classmates, since most of them wouldn't end up in good terms with her because of cliques. Anyhow, she'd just have to deal with it in a lady-like manner. After all, she's one of the _top_ students.

"Whatever." Sakura's mind was trailing on the person she bumped into the day before. He was über-ly good-looking, she pointed out, but Sakura didn't like the way he acted at all. At least he could've said, "It's okay" or something like that, but he didn't. Sakura just shrugged it off and forgot about it. It wasn't anything worth boggling your mind for anyway.

Sometimes, though, things are just too different from how they seem.

"Sasuke! You made it!" Naruto was all hyped up about this 'Sasuke' person, and Sakura didn't know why. He was probably another stuck- up jerk who was too vain to care about anyone else whom the vociferous blond just so happened to meet somewhere. Oh, well.

The teen whom Sakura was looking at a while ago tilted his head up and caught her sight. She couldn't believe it.

"What the hell?!" Sakura was swayed by disbelief in the worst way possible. "No way!"

Unfortunately for her, Naruto had already gone to the other end of the gym. Trying to eliminate the urge to amputate him, Sakura hesitantly followed behind and mumbled swearwords repeatedly. "You'd better not screw up on this, Naruto," she hissed. "Or you'll really get it this time."

Naruto kept silent all the while, but Sakura was certain there was an inkling of a grimace on his lips. He stopped in his tracks when he was a few feet away from the raven-haired guy who, in turn, straightened up and raised a brow. "Naruto?"

The blond punched him mockingly and said, "Sasuke—look here—I brought someone with me!"

Sasuke's eyes were dragged to the pinked-haired girl in front of him who just said a mere "hi". He stared at her still, with much more indifference.

Sakura, on the other hand, could barely verbalize a word. She couldn't even register this in her head. That guy—the one named Sasuke—was the exact same person she hit the before. Utter embarrassment flooded over her, and she couldn't have felt any worse. Moreover, he had dark eyes and black spiked hair. He looked almost too perfect—that is, except for the fact that he was staring at her in the cruelest way.

"Naruto, is this the stupid waitress you were talking about yesterday?" Sasuke turned to glare at him instead.

"Wha—? Naruto!" Sakura couldn't believe he actually referred to her as a 'stupid waitress' when talking to other people. _That's it._ She turned away and treaded heavily going back to the main building while Naruto was desperately calling out to her saying he was sorry about what happened. But she wouldn't listen. Then again, who would?

"'Stupid waitress'?! Damn that guy," she bickered incessantly. "He _may_ be cute, but—oh, darn…"

She ran into a couple of people while doing this until she finally arrived at the classroom of the section she was classified to. She saw her usual classmates—Shikamaru, Kiba, Hinata and Ino. Wait, INO?!

She checked the list of pupils posted on the bulletin board just outside the room.

_Haruno Sakura._

_Hyuuga Hinata._

_…_

She read past a few other names, and then she saw it. There wasn't any doubt now.

_Yamanaka Ino._

"Saaa-kura!"

It was definitely too late to turn back now. Ino was waving at her, making faces almost too hilarious that they should be considered insults. Sakura gave out a small grin and quickly replaced it with a scowl as she went to the seat beside Hinata. The white-eyed female smiled at her, and she returned the gesture.

A few minutes of painful agony caused by waiting was, at last, put to an end as Iruka-sensei walked into the noisy room. All students returned to their seats, groaning.

"Sorry class, but your adviser can't make it today," he said. Suddenly, their faces lit up in the most unimaginable way—it was so abrupt that you could conclude they were planning a party after that announcement.

"And that's why I'm here! Taaaa-da!" Iruka-sensei's statement wiped away the jovial atmosphere that wrapped the classroom just a few seconds ago. He laughed at the mere sight of their glowering faces. "Kids these days…"

A soft knock on the door resonated. Iruka-sensei opened it to reveal a familiar face standing with his backpack over his right shoulder. Sakura flinched at the sight of the person—it was Sasuke.

"Hell no," she sighed. She hoped this day wouldn't get any worse, but it just did.

* * *

**What I have to say:** Finally-- after weeks of schoolwork, my hiatus has been put aside. For the mean time, that is. Anyhow, I still don't know when the next chapter'll be updated. Let's just hope I can work on it faster than this one. [It's not my fault!

'hope you like it...

uhh...p.s., this is stEalthy heLLion. I got tired of the name so I changed it. Hehe.

sayonarA...

...jiGOku no sAiph


	2. Unfortunately

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto...

* * *

"So," Iruka-sensei started, practically breaking the silent tension that was dominating in the place. "How were your summers?"

Everyone slumped unto their tables. Groans and whimpers sounded all over the place, possibly because of the insane heat and Iruka-sensei's out-of-this-world comments. Sakura looked around, eager to know what other stuff they might have been saying. An eerie silence took place among them and Iruka-sensei was scratching his head anxiously, probably wondering about what else to take up. "Well—seeing there's no reply to my question…"

He paused and continued, "I'd like to introduce, by the way, the newest member of our student body—please come in front—Uchiha Sasuke!"

Sakura hit her head on the wall upon hearing the name. She still can't get over it—the fact that they're _classmates_ is just _too disturbing_. He stood up from the seat at the back part of the room (she also observed that he wasn't as sociable as the other men were) and went to the front. As he passed by Ino's seat, the _femme fatale_ cast her turquoise eyes in quite a seductive manner at him, only to be badly ignored. Amused, Sakura stuck out her tongue in quiet victory. Well, victory over the pig, that is.

Sasuke kept hushed all the while Iruka-sensei was presenting him to the class. He made absolutely no comment, but every now and then, a girl or two would make that clichéd fangirl-ish sound (the one that goes, "haaaa", which is often translated into "he's so damn cute" or something like that in English). Sakura heaved a sigh. _What do they see in him_ _anyway?_

* * *

The bell clamored along the halls of the academy. _Finally_, Sakura thought. _The break is finally here. Oh, finally!_

She thanked the gods of recess for showering her with the most beautiful blessing she could've received that time. There was nothing more like a good ol' break to rid her mind of the image of a certain hot (?) bastard named Uchiha Sasuke. Well, _she_ considered him a bastard—the other females thought he was the cutest heartthrob ever. Even Ino, who is _ostensibly_ the snobbish brat, seemed to like him. _Well_, she supposed, _I'm different—unlike them, I won't fall for a guy like him. Never. Na-ah. Nope—no way._

At least, that's what she thought.

"Naruto," she called out to her ever-hyperactive best friend who was already chatting with Sai. Of course, his boisterous laughter (with the matching leg-slaps) couldn't be missed out. Sakura darted toward them to complain about the teachers' choices for her classmates. "I can't determine who's worse—Ino or that jerk?!"

"Sakura, Sasuke's not a jerk," he claimed, although there was a trace of a whisper saying, "Though he _may_ be one sometimes." He continued, saying, "He's just—well—chauvinistic! I mean, you two will get along sooner of later… Or maybe even do _more_ than just that."

Sakura slapped his arm and huffed. _Get along? Who does Naruto think he's referring to?! There's no way in heaven (or in hell) I'm going to be friends with him. No way._

And it went on. Naruto merely stared at his friend (who's a girl)'s 'idiosyncrasy' which she did by muttering gibberish to herself. He'd never understand women's pains. But then again, he didn't have to.

"And besides—it's pretty obvious that he's a playboy!" She continued.

"How could you even say that?"

Sakura fingered her hair for a moment. "Well… For one thing, he's, um, good-looking and—"

"Aha! So you _do_ think he's _hot_!" Naruto was jumping around in a preppy manner. Sakura let out a moan of regret after saying one of the most ridiculous things, that is, next to the clause "Naruto is sexy".

"Dammit, Naruto—I don't!" Sakura huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, the pink fringes of her hair covering her emerald eyes. "If there's anyone here I'd least be happy with, it would be _him_!"

Then, out of the bushes, a figure jumped out and sat beside Naruto. "And who's that?"

It was Sasuke. There was the eerie coldness in his voice which was present the first time he spoke to her that morning.

"You know, Sakura—I don't really get why you're so mad with Sasuke," Naruto suddenly popped out of nowhere in the conversation. He gave Sasuke a mock punch, saying, "He isn't that bad. I mean, it's not like you've actually met him before, right?"

Sakura let out a small yelp. Sakura knew better than to talk about her bumping into Sasuke the day before. "Right."

Naruto grinned widely and uttered, "And just because he called you a 'stupid waitress', that doesn't mean you should curse him to death, right?"

Sakura gave Sasuke a glower when she noticed that he wasn't even listening to their conversation at all—nor was he interested. He just sat there on the bench made of cement, leaning against the beautifully carved pillar supporting the roof of the covered walk. He was looking at something, though Sakura couldn't make what it was out of it. It could have been the sky, or the trees—or even Ino who was at the other side of the field. Sakura cringed. She told herself it could be anything but Ino.

It is an important matter, that is, that Sakura and Ino were once best friends. It was only until then when the blonde had to enter the cheerleading team and developed a keen sense of pride which somehow made her disgusted towards anyone who wasn't in the status of 'popular'. Surely enough, Sakura was well-known in her own way which was through being noticed because of her high I.Q. and potential in the arts and medicine, but it was greatly different from the popularity you get from being a cheerleader. When you are in the same level as that of Sakura's, which is only attainable by the smartest pupils in the campus, you receive not only the respect and admiration of the pupils and teachers, but also envy from wanna-be's. When you're a cheerleader, on the other hand, the first things you'd be given when strutting along the corridors like the world was at your feet were the amazed glances from the people around you, particularly the boys. Cheerleaders were regarded as the glamorous girls along with the rich ones; normally, they'd be among the prettiest in the school and would have that strange charm. Ino was like that. She had long lovely blonde hair which neat fringes covering her right eye which was turquoise in color. She had a nice body too—with smooth curves and a perfectly thin frame which went well with the usual purple outfits she wore when she wasn't in her uniform. Sakura once was jealous of her, but forgot about it when she became the top student of their batch.

Anyhow, going back to the story, Sakura was broken out of her thoughts when the bell rang to signify that they had to go back to their rooms. Of course, Naruto went with Sai who was, much to his annoyance, a classmate. The two were constantly arguing about many things, but were, in some way, friends. Sakura hesitated walking alongside Sasuke, who was still keeping himself quiet. Now that she had thought about it, Sakura realized that she _had_ been taking the issue a little bit too far. _Maybe_, she thought. _Maybe if I try talking to him… I'll__—_

She was cut off yet again when a hand pulled her out of the way.

"My dear Sakura," said Ino. "It would be a bit inappropriate if you'd be seen with Sasuke-kun, wouldn't it? I mean, a sight such as a hot guy like him hanging out with a bookworm like you isn't that much of a scene, don't you think?"

Sakura tugged away from Ino's grasp. "What are you blabbing about? I'm not hanging out with him, and I trust those piggish eyes of yours can see it as clearly as I'd expect them to."

"Whatever. I don't care how you'll explain it; just don't go near him or even think of doing so."

"Why would it matter to you, anyway?" Sakura was getting intrigued by this.

"Don't butt into people of a higher status's business, Sakura. A guy like Sasuke wouldn't probably notice you, besides."

And with that, Ino left her there, partly shocked, partly sulking. In silence, she paced toward the classroom and saw that not many have arrived yet. She sat in her usual seat beside Hinata and propped open a novel she just bought yesterday in the bookstore.

"Sakura-san," Hinata suddenly whispered out. "Do you think Uchiha-kun's intelligent?"

She gasped. Of all people, she just had to be the one Hinata would ask. "Sorry, Hinata, I'm just not the right person to answer that. Why're you asking, by the way? It seems to be merely a random thought."

"Well, it sort of is. I—I just wondered about it." She paused and continued, "He looks like an intellectual to me, in a way…"

Sakura thought about it too. She glanced at Sasuke's direction, and noticed that he was still in deep thought, as she concluded. Then an idea fluttered into her mind. "Hinata, are you taking an interest in him too?"

The Hyuuga girl blushed, and looked as if she was about to mutter 'yes', but her answer said otherwise. "N-no, of course not. Why?"

"Sorry," Sakura smiled. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just that, of all the boys here, that Uchiha person's the one who received the most attention from the females, as far as I'm concerned. He even beat your cousin, sad to say."

She remebered the other Hyuuga. _Neji__-san_, she thought. He was quite handsome, she would say. And very sharp too. He was the Pupil Government President and had a fair share of fan girls.

Hinata was about to say something else when the teacher came in and started his lesson on Environmental Science. They were already in high school, which meant that every year there would always be a different teacher or two. He gave an introduction so simple, and yet containing so many complicated topics.

Then after saying this and that, he asked a question that Sakura thought she might be the only one to answer. She eagerly raised her hand and beamed, and the professor, who later identified himself as Jiraiya the 'Toad Specialist', was about to point to her when another hand shot through the air. Sakura was startled to see that another person knew what the teacher was talking about. Uneasily, she moved to take a look at who it was. She'd be utterly insulted if it was Ino, but it turned out that it wasn't. In fact, the person wasn't even a girl.

"Professor," said a deep, cool voice. And then he began explaining.

She couldn't grasp the reason how a new transferee could answer one of the hardest questions. _How'd he know that?_

Yes, it was Sasuke. _The_ Uchiha Sasuke—and by the time he had finished talking, all the girls went crazy, giggling and blushing. Sakura caught sight of Ino staring at his direction with those googly eyes of hers. She sighed, thinking of how more desperate her female classmates could possibly get.

But it weren't just her classmates. As the lunch bell rang and they all had to proceed to the cafeteria for a meal, almost all the girls gazed at Sasuke with much amazement. He _did_ seem to mind—Sakura once saw him frowning from all of the attention he was getting. She took note that maybe this happened to him from where he was so he's probably used to all of it anyhow.

It just made her wonder so, that is to say, how she ended up in the same table the new heartthrob was seated in. She remembered not only Ino's petty threats which she was capable of ignoring, but also what Iruka-sensei told her before leaving for lunch:

"Sakura, may I have a word with you for a moment?"

She walked towards him and stood right before his table wherein he was arranging something. "Sir?"

He scratched his nose and let out a chuckle. "Sakura, if you would be so kind…"

"Yes?"

"I was thinking if you could act as a guide for Uchiha-kun, that is, if you might." He looked up and smiled cunningly. "He's a clever kid, just as you are, and you seem to be the right person to look after him as he tries to adapt to the environment here."

Sakura hesistated. "But sensei, why me? I understand your first point, but there are other people out there, like Naruto—and he knows Sasuke."

"Well, Sakura, you're very versatile. You're highly capable of doing things most of your age cannot. You're responsible. You don't easily forget. And…Sasuke's a boy." He stared at her for a while. "Having a girl for a guide is like adding cherry on top of a scrumptious sundae!"

"_Shitsurei shimasu__, sensei_?" Sakura understood what Iruka-sensei was telling her; it's just that she didn't want to.

"Oh, yeah," she mumbled to herself as she ate a plate of _umeboshi ochazuke_. "I was told to do so."

She looked at Sasuke, who was eating a rice ball and still had a serving of _sushi_ settled on his plate. He was quiet, still, and looked like he had no plans of talking to her at all. Beside him was Naruto, stuffing himself with ramen. Sakura simply groaned at the sight of the two men with her as Sai took a seat opposite her. "Another guy… Great."

She didn't know why she was feeling cruel towards men that day. She just brushed it off and continued munching.

"So, Sakura," Naruto ecstatically skipped towards her about five minutes after the dismissal bell rang. "Are you and Sasuke friends now?"

"That's a dull question, Naruto," she replied, neatly putting away her stuff into her bag. They were in the Physics laboratory and most of the other pupils have left already. Physics and Chemistry were the only subjects she and Naruto took up together and since Physics was held last every single day, the two went home together as they always have done.

"Whatever. You know, since you're in charge of Sasuke now, we should go home with him."

She huffed. "I don't know."

And with that, Naruto went out to 'find something'. Sakura decided to just go on outside without him and wait at the exit gates. They were used to that anyway.

Just as Sakura was about to run to the main floor, she bumped into someone and sort of fell off balance. She tilted her head up to find Sasuke quirking a brow at her in a cold way.

"Oh, it's you, Sasuke."

She got up on her feet and was about to walk away when Sasuke said, "Iruka-sensei told me I should walk home with you and Naruto."

Sakura gasped silently and turned to him. _Iruka-sensei's really going to pay for this. _"I suppose so."

* * *

**Author's Note:** So...There you have it (finally)! I've updated the story, and to make up for the loooong wait, I made it longer than I ever would have! Wheee... 

later,

mia


	3. Randomness and A Secret

**Before anything else:** I'm finally back with another chappie! Yey! 'Sorry it took soooo darn long to have any update or anything...I was so busy. But anyway, please enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Nope, me dun own Naruto. grunts

* * *

They walked silently along the corridors and upon seeing that it was already four o'clock, Sakura made her way through the hallways faster. Sasuke didn't have any difficulty catching up at all. Finally, they arrived at the gateway and noticed that Naruto was already there. 

"Geez, Sakura-chan," he whined. "What took you so long?"

"Well—"

"Whoa, you even brought Sasuke with you… What the—did you two do _something_ I should know about?!" He eyed them suspiciously.

Sakura knew exactly what he meant by that, so not a second later, her fist made contact with Naruto's almost-too-pudgy face and sent him flying toward the street outside the campus. "You'd better think about what you're going to say before it comes out of your yap, Naruto…Or else…"

She held him up. "I'll punch you for real next time."

The two were already out of the school premises, and Sasuke merely stared at them from the other side of the gate. Naruto appologized to Sakura almost pitifully and promised her he'd treat her to a bowl of ramen while on their way to school. It was getting sort of chilly that afternoon, despite the fact that the temperature that morning was entirely different. Sakura took this as a sign that summer was finally leaving and autumn was approaching. She turned to see Sasuke walking towards them with his hands in his pockets and his bag slung to one shoulder. Naruto was still caressing his cheek because according to him, Sakura's hit hurt more than a sumo's would have. She laughed at him, thinking of how pussy he had looked, and said, "Sorry, Naruto. It does look good on you, though—you know—the punch mark."

A few girls who were walking past them giggled at Sakura's comment, making Naruto blush a good deal. This only made his best friend laugh more and even Sasuke seemed to smirk, although it was only a second or so.

By that time they were already by a riverbank, and left the hustles of the city a long while ago. As expected, Sasuke was among them, keeping to himself whatever he would've meant to say. Naruto, on the other hand, was talking about a certain teacher whose foot he had stepped on that morning. Sakura wasn't really listening as intently as she should have, for the blond beside her was so caught up by what he was saying. She instead paced as silently as she could, relieved that there was at last no fan girl who was going to glomp Sasuke and make all those annoying screeches. Sasuke seemed to be at least calmer too.

"Anyway, Sasuke," said Naruto, who seemed to be aware that no one was interested at his reports. "Do you want to come with us for some ramen?"

The Uchiha boy stirred from his silence. At first, he gave the impression of not wanting to. He stared at Naruto for about a short while and sighed, "I guess so."

They sauntered around the streets for a while as the sunset came to pass, painting the whole scenery with touches of lavender and shades of violent red, until they reached a petite bar with only a counter and about four or five chairs. Naruto, of course, took his seat first, leading the other two beside him. "I wonder if I should treat you too, Sasuke."

The other male raised a brow, saying, "_Don't_. Forget it."

Sakura smiled at the sight of the argument of the two boys next to her as she took out a couple of bills from her wallet.

Naruto barred her and grinned widely. "Sakura-chan, I'll be paying, right?"

She scrunched her nose in a playful manner and smiled at Naruto's being generous that day. She thanked him quietly and saw Sasuke with his elbows on the table, hands supporting the head. _He's always like that…_

And indeed he was. All the while they were eating, Naruto was conversing yet again and this time, Sakura _did_ pay attention to him. But at some point here and then, she would steal glances at Sasuke to make sure he wasn't going to snore a minute later. When they finished, they set off on their way again. It was already past six.

Their walk that dusk was certainly a hushed one. Naruto's apartment, wherein he lived alone at such a young age, was the first stop. They bade each other good-bye, and Sakura strode off again, but this time, with Sasuke alone.

_Oh, crap_, she thought. That may not have been the best thing for an academic to say in her mind, but then again, she was very lost as to what to say to him. "Uh, Sasuke… Wasn't Ichiraku just the best place for ramen?"

He made no gesture whatsoever to tell her his answer. Sakura considered that the dumbest thing she had ever said, especially to a guy. Abashed, she looked down on the cobbled street and felt heat rising to her face. Sasuke seemed to have noticed, so he just said, "I guess so."

Unknown to her what else to say, she asked out of nowhere, "Sorry, but… Where do you live, anyway?"

She noticed that she hasn't thought a single insult at the time, nor has she said anything offending to him. That made her wonder—that morning she was so furious at him, but back then she felt so serene. So many complicated feelings struck her like she was a tuneful shamisen struck by an impulsive musician then taken away by a calmer one. Was she really beginning to accept Sasuke's presence in her life?

"Why?" He replied, breaking her out of contemplation.

"Oh, nothing, really. I want to be sure of some _things_, just in case _something_ goes wrong," she tried to act coolly and succeeded. "Are you in a rush or something?"

"No," he said curtly. He only gave her one-word responses and seemed to have no notice at all. The rest of the minutes went by as tormenting as ever. She kept hushed, which she simply can't stand, and Sasuke had his mind on other things as well. The excruciating silence was finally eased out of her when she arrived at a house surrounded by a lush garden and some street lights which she called 'home'.

She opened the well-painted gate and was about to go in when Sasuke called out, "Uh, Sakura…"

"What?"

"Thanks." He then continued on his way, leaving her dumbfounded. She certainly didn't expect a word of gratitude from the guy she considered a bastard, more than ever because he wasn't even talking to her before. She thought it best to just forget about it, and that she still had homework to do.

"_Tadaima_." And she entered the house without any other thought.

* * *

The next few days of school were indeed quite normal. They kept up the same routine everyday: Naruto and Sakura would wait for Sasuke every afternoon and they would walk home together. The last day of the week finally came, and the weather was as frigid as ever. Leaves fell from the trees by great quantities and covered the streets with blankets of red, yellow and orange. It was a picturesque landscape indeed, just like a canvas of the sea with the colors of the sunset smothered on it. Sakura was in a blissful mood, flouting the fact that Ino was present, as always.

"Ah, _ohayou gozaimasu_, Haruno-san," the pig exclaimed sarcastically as Sakura entered the room. "Why, you're in _such_ a good mood today!"

Sakura thought it best to snub her, and took her usual seat beside Hinata. "Stop the formal talk, you porker. Don't you have anything else to do, like cram yourself with leftover pig feeds or something? The morning would be rather drastic without your presence if you passed out due to starvation, now, wouldn't it?"

The blonde kept quiet for a second and searched the room for something—or someone. When she seemed to have found what she was looking for, she made her way toward the end of the room and seductively sat on the chair in front of Sasuke (which had no occupant by that time). She pushed herself closer to him and you could clearly see the disgust drawn on Sasuke's almost perfectly sculpted features. She cast her azure blue eyes on him with a hint of playfulness and said, "Oh, Sasuke-kun, you look so…"

Then she turned to look at Sakura. "So handsome today… Oh, sorry. You look handsome _every_ single day. What do you say, girls?"

Squeals erupted from every corner of the classroom. All of the girls, except for Sakura and Hinata, blushed and shrieked in shrill delight._ Damn_, Sakura thought. _There're fan girls everywhere!_

"Hinata, do you mind these people?" She asked.

"To tell the truth, Sakura-san," her friend replied. "T-they're really deafening."

"Do you want to put an end to this?"

"I do, yes—very much. But… How?"

"Well, I haven't got an idea right now, but I'm pretty sure we're not the only ones who're infuriated." She pointed at Sasuke, who was now fuming. "I was just making sure I'm not alone, if you know what I mean."

Hinata nodded quietly.

And the rest of the hours went by smoothly.

* * *

"_Anone_, Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered across the table in the Physics laboratory. "Since it's Friday and we have no homework, let's go to the—"

"Uzumaki, whatever it is you're gossiping there, you'd better save that for later," Ibiki-sensei spoke out.

"—the smoothie shack later," he finally said after waiting for the professor to turn his back. Sakura acquiesced and proceeded to copy what was written on the board.

* * *

The long period ended, at length. Sakura began fixing her things when Naruto approached her and put his arm over her shoulder.

"Someday, Sakura-chan," he started. "I'm gonna be a criminologist!""You're talking about random stuff again, Naruto," she replied. She glanced at him, smiling, and continued, "Not that it's unusual, anyway."

The other gave a hearty grin, went back to his seat across the table and began fixing his things for later. When the two had finally finished, they went outside to see Ino flirting with Sasuke.

"Seriously, Ino, when will you _ever_ give Sasuke a break?!" Naruto demanded.

The cheerleader scoffed and gave Sakura a grimace. "You're kidding, right? Do you actually think _I_ will give in to that girl who has a remarkably large forehead?"

She pointed her finger at Sakura, who, at that time, was about to pin the pig to the wall and give her a gravely sadistic beating. "Do you, I daresay, consider _me_ as a rival?"That was unexpected.

"Shut up," Ino snapped. "As if I really would. I just thought it would be a big waste if Sasuke went out with _you_."

And with that, Naruto quickly tugged Sasuke out of Ino's clutch and left with haste, eager to get out of that hellhole. Sakura, of course, followed just as impatiently and hissed, "_Damn_ her."

Naruto soothed her, saying, "Aw, it's okay. Sasuke'd never go out with a girl like her, right, Sasuke?"

The raven-haired male smirked and said, "Whatever."

They arrived at the smoothie shack by five o'clock that afternoon, doing their usual everyday routine. Naruto ate about three times faster that day (which was about the equivalent of a minute and 10 seconds), saying something about having a 'meeting' and leaving the two behind.

Another one of those agonizing silences came through Sakura and her companion. She reasonably hated it since almost nothing stroke into her mind everytime they were left alone. Despite that though, she never felt insecure around him. It was just about as if she'd known him for longer than she knew, and yet, had never actually met him—somewhat like an unknown person you've had dreams of for such a great length of time.

"So, Sasuke," she mumbled while playing around with her noodles. "What do your parents do?"

It took awhile for him to raise his head up and pay for their orders. He gave Sakura no response and walked away from the counter, leaving her puzzled, mouth gaping.

"Hey!" She yelled as she caught up to him. He turned his head around, meeting her glare, and giving one of his own. "What did you leave me for?"He shrugged. "Nothing—I just remembered something."

"You said 'Nothing' and yet, you _did_ remember something? What the hell?" Sakura easily grew impatient those days, apparently—her rational self being a reason why she didn't have any fantasies of some sort.

Sasuke merely scoffed at his cohort's edginess. Sakura grew pink, realizing that one of her temper management issues prevailed yet again. "But anyway, you still haven't told me about your family. I'd like to know—as your guide, of course."

She managed to keep herself somewhat collected. She brushed the strands of gum-colored hair that were annoyingly covering her face away and saw that they had already reached the bay.

"Well?"

Sasuke still didn't make any notion of saying anything, but then suddenly paused in his tracks and face the body of water that was reflecting the colored particles of light being emitted by the sunset.

"My family," he mumbled quietly.

"What?"

"Well, my family's gone."

Sakura was struck by what the first thing that came to her mind. That was one of the disadvantages of having very high intuition—the fact that you can uncover so many things fast can get very exasperating when you don't want to know about them. She averted her gaze to the shimmering bay instead, observing the specks of orange luminosity and felt the nippy autumn breeze sneak up her smooth skin.

"By gone you mean—"

"They're dead."

A jolt of guilt seared into her guts like she was being electrocuted by some sort of ligthning bolt. _Oh, no… This really isn't the best situation to be in..._

Sasuke, on the other hand, seemed to be having one of those keepin'-it-cool moments of his—the typical frown, hands in his pockets, and staring at the sky for a sentimental moment. But, Sakura, being the cunning person that she is, took his arm and led him to one of her favorite parts in the city.

"Damn… You broke the moment, you freakin' woman," said Sasuke as he was being pulled through some sort of weird tea garden or whatever you call that. Sakura laughed sarcastically, encouraging him to shut up and look as they went down a long flight of stairs.

In front of him was still (yes, _still_) the bay. "There really isn't anything special here, is there?"

"Why won't you let me do the talking for once?" Sakura whispered, pointing to something. He followed the direction of her finger, and saw the most beautiful thing he'd seen in years.

"Nice, isn't it?" Sakura said, settling herself on the cement railing. It took Sasuke a little bit over a minute to distinguish how lovelier the view was there than that of above. It consoled him, in truth, and gave him the feeling he hadn't felt for a very lengthy time. He considered Sakura was just being nice and felt nothing more, but there was that mysterious glint in her eyes that just made him wonder.

"Really, Sasuke," she muttered sadly. "I'm sorry. I should've been more careful… I mean—"

"Whatever. It's not like I was going to die the moment I told you that."

She smiled. It was a really good thing that he opened up to her. "_I mean_, I haven't experienced losing someone before, so—"

"I said it's okay," he snapped. "Seriously, how many times do I have to rephrase that?"

"Sorry," she chuckled softly. "But then again, Sasuke, it was very nice of you to actually tell me, even though we've known each other for only a few days."

"Yeah, whatever."


End file.
